Philip Anderson
Dr. David Sutton
ENGL 20803
30 March 2011
New Bond Brings Out Classic Bond
Bond. James Bond. The 2006 installment of the 007 series, Casino Royale, puts a new
spin on the secret agent, James Bond. This film features all of the thrill-seeking action, heartpounding racing, and passionate love making that have come to be expected from 007 over the
years with its share of zigzags. Casino Royale takes the fundamental characteristics of a James
Bond film and contributes original ideas to them to explore new territories.
The onset of the film gives a brief glimpse of Bond before he becomes a “00” agent, as
he has yet to eliminate a single adversary. This feature in itself is unique to the series as there is
very seldom any insight into the past of James Bond, but it helps establish the fact that this is 007
as never seen before. This scene also serves to introduce Daniel Craig as the updated, upgraded
James Bond. He perhaps portrays the most accurate depiction of the British secret service agent
set forth by creator Ian Fleming since Sean Connery. The myriad of new features found in this
new Bond rivals the onslaught of innovation displayed in the storyline.
Previous 007 films fell victim to a patterned, albeit successful, sequence of events which
became rather repetitive. They featured an opening action sequence which introduced the
antagonist, opening theme song and credits, a plan to sway the villain from accomplishing their
havoc wreaking tasks, and the eventual love scene between Bond and his latest squeeze. Casino
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Royale keeps the identities of these individuals disguised throughout the film, hinting in various
directions along the way. The fact that all of the characters, including Bond are flexible in their
roles, allow the fast-paced story to develop at a smooth pace which includes transitions to and
from each location used in the film.
The plot of Casino Royale picks up with James pursuing a bomb maker in Africa who has
ties to a terrorist organization controlled by the primary antagonist of the film, Le Chiffre. This
sequence of events hammers home the point that Bond is back in a new way. His irrational
decision making in certain situations exploit his youth and contradict the character seen in prior
Bond films. He later resumes his rambunctious behavior in Miami as he breaks up a terrorist
attack planned by Le Chiffre, though in typical Bond fashion, makes a mess in the process. His
actions force M to place a tracking device inside of him so they can monitor him and determine
what he is doing, as he is not always so forthcoming with such information. I will admit that it is
quite shocking at first, to see M place so little faith in Bond given that prior films establish a
level of trust in James and his ability to comply with the requirements.
Needless to say, Le Chiffre’s terrorist plot is foiled which leads to him launching a high
stakes poker game in Montenegro. As Bond is the best poker player in MI6, he is chosen to take
Le Chiffre and his money down. In order to see to it that Bond remains reasonable with his
expenses, accountant Vesper Lynd accompanies him to the game. Bond must work his way out
of some jams throughout the game but bonds with Vesper in the process. He actually serves as a
comfort to her after he is forced to kill two men in front of her. The two of them, in typical
James Bond fashion, eventually wind up becoming an item, though the sincerity on James’ part
reaches an all time high as he actually resigns (briefly) from MI6 to commit to her.
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The first quality to notice about this film is that Daniel Craig inherits the reins as James
Bond. His ability to fluently transition from the intense action go-getter to the charismatic,
irresistible to women, charmer that the James Bond character possesses, makes me think that he
is the best actor to fill the role since Sean Connery. Craig is a brasher Bond than his predecessor,
Pierce Brosnan, a feature I find to make his secret agent persona more believable. He spends
less time focusing on intimacy, though it is still a prevalent subject, and more time committing to
his mission, no matter the cost. This is evidenced when he has the opportunity to take advantage
of a married woman who he abandons in his Bahamas hotel room as he leaves to go take care of
the bomb situation in Miami.
Craig is surrounded by a well-selected cast, which includes Eva Green as Vesper, the
cutest accountant that I have ever seen, and Judi Dench in her recurring role as M, the head of
MI6. James’ actions frequently go against the orders M provides which in turn cause friction to
occur between the two of them. As for the primary villain, Le Chiffre, played by Mads
Mikkelsen, is a terrorist whose mathematical genius enables his gambling ability which is why
he is confident enough to host the poker tournament. These three characters steal the show and
do so in a spectacular manner. Vesper and Bond share a connection never before seen with a
Bond girl. Another quality of the film that is foreign to Bond flicks is the fact that there are
multiple antagonists. While Le Chiffre is clearly identified as one, several other characters crop
up to suggest that they have an impact to the story as a whole and not just a certain scene.
Casino Royale also takes a new position on the music front in terms of the opening title
sequence. Chris Cornell’s “You Know my Name” is blared as a mirage of aces, hearts, spades,
and diamonds are given all new purposes. This song selection was perhaps as brilliant as any
song ever chosen for a Bond opening. One of the most emphasized points of the movie is to take
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the preconceived notions about James and shift them to see the new image he is depicting. A
new identity is being given to the action hero, and the song makes sure to hammer home the
point that this is the new James Bond. That is not to say that the creators of the film abandoned
the roots of the Bond series. Casino Royale still features the classic John Barry theme song
throughout the film and the closing of the movie
As is the case with any James Bond film, a large emphasis is placed on special effects
and action sequences, which trust me, there are plenty of. In between high stakes poker games
and confrontations with M, James has the time to take part in hand-to-hand combat at two
construction sites, an airport, and of course the casino. There is also a chase scene in which
Bond goes chasing after the villains in his Aston Martin DBS through the countryside. The fact
that the creators of the movie chose to withdraw their plot emphasis on technology means that
the actions seen are primarily caused by events transpiring and not some new gadget or gismo.
I personally highly recommend seeing this film as it mixes the classic elements of Bond
with the new direction in which the franchise is headed. Well renowned critic, Richard Roeper
agrees that this is a quality film but is in need of a trim as, “problems arise because this edition is
too lengthy and too complicated.” These problems refer to the fact that there is no single villain
in this story, but rather an evolving sense of who it might be. “It’s never a good sign when
you’re more than two hours into a movie, and you’re still not entirely certain which guy is
supposed to be the main villain,” he explains. (Roeper)
Roeper’s review is not without praise however, as he enjoys the fact that the writers of
this film cut back their reliance on high tech gadgets and rid them of the predictable precedent.
He enjoys the fact that “Bond is an arrogant and sometimes reckless agent,” which when
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combined with his “trysting activities to married women,” allows him to stay “emotionally
uninvolved.” This of course is an important quality in someone who has a license to kill.
(Roeper)
Roeper and I share some opinions and disagree on others. I for one, found the length of
the film to be perfect. It was consistently filled with suspense and maintained the caliber of a
movie I expect when watching James Bond in action. The fact of the matter is that this
installment of Bond is different from the customary storyline and requires a new attitude when
going to view the film. I think the shell-shock of this new path influenced Roeper to view the
movie more negatively than he would have, going into the movie with an uninformed mentality.
Casino Royale is one of the best action films that I have seen in recent years and
combines elements of James Bond’s past to some of his present and creates a dramatic
masterpiece. Every bit of the film is well-thought out and the action scenes do not take away too
much from the main point of the story: Bond is back.
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Works Cited
Casino Royale. Dir. Martin Campbell. Perf. Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, and
Judi Dench. Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 2006. Film
Roeper, Richard. Casino Royale. Richard Roeper and the Movies. N.p. 2006. Web. 27 March
2011